Guitar Hero 5 (Guitar Kit) Walkthrough & Strategy Guide

Published: Jan 1, 2009

Guitar Hero 5 Vocals

If you're not careful, singing will seem even harder than drumming. It's important to breathe correctly, train your throat, and hydrate properly, too. That might sound like too much trouble for a living room rock session, but it's easier than you think. We'll help you out, don't worry.

HYDRATION

More so than any other band mate, the singer must watch what they use to hydrate themselves. If you don't, you could wind up with a sore throat that lasts for hours, and at worst, you'll wake up feeling sick the next morning. Your best choice is always water. A lot of "energy drinks" contain things that do more harm than good, like sugars, syrups, and diuretics. Most inexpensive juices aren't any better. If you're hanging out with friends and enjoying some beer—or other form of alcohol—at least make sure you're drinking water at the same time. You'll be able to sing longer and thus have more fun.

WARM-UP

To prepare your throat, you should try singing in different tones and pitches. You might feel silly doing this at a party, but if you can't do weird things, what kind of a party are you at?! You've probably heard the ol' "do, re, me, fa, so, la, ti, do," and that's an easy way of hitting the octaves and warming up. If you get to pick the first song or two, choose ones that you know well and can harmonize with. This should help you get settled into the right singing range, and from then on, you can just drop octaves whenever necessary.

RANGE

And while we're on the subject, you shouldn't try to sing in a way that's far outside your natural range. If you have a deep, bass-tone voice, then you shouldn't be struggling to belt out high-pitch singing like you're Freddie Mercury. There is but one key to success here, and it's harmony. You don't have to sing in the same exact range as the original singer, you just need to harmonize with them. The game will recognize this as a valid performance, and you'll spare your poor throat unnecessary pain.

BREATHING

Of course, all that talk about how to sing is useless if you don't know how to breathe. If at all possible, you should be performing diaphragmatic breathing. That means you'll be using your belly—not your upper body and shoulders—when you're taking air in and pushing it out. This also helps you powerfully propel air through your body, which you should always be doing when you want to sing forcefully. Instead of tightening up your throat, push that air out of your gut and through your vocal chords for maximum effect. And when it comes to endurance, proper breathing plays a role there, too. Try to suck in a quick breath before every line of lyrics, then let it out and take in another before the next part starts. It's essential that you learn to do this, as a lack of air will leave you with a struggle and a sore throat.

You may feel like that's a lot to remember, but here's a summary of it: keep water at your side, warm up your vocal cords beforehand, stay in your range and breathe with your belly. That makes things simpler, doesn't it? Keep those four things in mind, and you'll be set to sing the night away.